President William Ruto has hit back at former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua regarding the placement of students to top-performing national schools, accusing him of spreading hate and tribal politics through the education system.
Speaking on Thursday, January 8, at the NYOTA capital disbursement event in Eldoret, Uasin-Gishu County, Ruto called out Gachagua, urging him to keep tribal politics out of schools.
"We do not want any county, any region or community, or any person to be left behind; we must move together. Let us not accept tribal politics," Ruto stated.
Adding, "Let nobody divide you based on being a Kikuyu, a Luo, a Luhya or a Kalenjin. Someone who does not have an agenda will sell you tribal politics."
He accused his former deputy of allegedly attempting to politicise the ongoing Grade 10 school placement along tribal lines, insisting that such actions risked eroding fairness in the education sector.
The President emphasised that all learners deserve equal treatment irrespective of their tribe or community, while accusing Gachagua of allegedly channelling his political desperation to learners.
"They have now gone to our schools to divide our children in schools. How desperate are you? Let our children be. Let our children learn. Those children are Kenyans regardless of the community they belong to," Ruto posed.
Ruto's sentiments come hardly two days after Gachagua called on school heads from Mt Kenya to prioritise placing Grade 10 learners who are from the region.
In his speech, the Democracy for the Citizens Party (DCP) leader questioned why students from other regions were being placed in high-performing schools located within Mt Kenya.
Gachagua, while criticising the placement criteria, labelled it as unfair and confused, linking it to the broader challenges facing the Competency Based Curriculum (CBC).
"Other people are being brought to our schools here, like Mang'u, Alliance and other top schools, while our children are being placed in lower-ranked schools despite having higher grades," he said.
"There is total confusion in the education system. Parents do not know what to do, yet the President is claiming he wants to take us to Singapore," Gachagua added.
His remarks sparked widespread criticism from the education stakeholders and the political class, with some calling for his summoning for allegedly making inflammatory sentiments.
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